Before public transit hit the hi-desert, Morongo Basin residents in the 1930’s got around in a bus that is still here nearly a century years later, thanks to the efforts of the Twentynine Palms Historical Society.
If you’ve been out to the Old Schoolhouse museum where the society is headquartered, you may have seen the small outbuilding that houses the Hastie Bus – a 1928 Chevrolet that was affectionately known as “Old Betsy” back during the depression. Twentynine Palms resident Johnnie Hastie drove the bus everyday from Twentynine Palms to Banning, with stops in Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Morongo Valley. If you didn’t have a car, horse, mule, or good walking shoes back then – the Hastie Bus was the only way to get around the Morongo Basin.
Back in 2014 volunteers at the Historical Society restored the bus and built the exhibit building in which it now sits. You can stop by the museum anytime to see and read about it, but if you are like me and have always wanted to learn a little bit more about this beautiful bus and the routes it rambled down, then tonight is your night at the Old Schoolhouse Museum.
At 7 PM tonight, Hastie Bus expert and 2023 Old Timer of the Year Les Snodgrass will be holding an informative and free lecture on the Hastie Bus and the man who racked up those daily desert miles – Johnnie Hastie.
If you made it to last weekend’s Desert Rat Convention at the Old Schoolhouse, you got to see the Hastie Bus up close as it served as a great backdrop to the convention and the Wild West Show that the Bravados put on to kick off the event.
I spoke with Twentynine Palms Historical Society President Dana Bowden, who said the return of the Desert Rat Convention was a certified success, drawing visitors out for a day of fun and fundraising. The event was in support of securing some funds to put some lights in the parking lot – which will be on a switch and will only be used when folks need it… like a Friday night lecture series.
Les Snodgrass’ talk on Johnnie Hastie and his bus starts at 7 tonight, and its free.
